


Not What You're Used To

by SnubbingApollo



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Adoribull - Freeform, Dorian's terrible self-esteem, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sub Drop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-05
Updated: 2015-05-05
Packaged: 2018-03-29 04:16:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3881956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnubbingApollo/pseuds/SnubbingApollo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He hears the sound of water in the wash room and sits up slowly, his muscles still loose and relaxed, slow to answer his commands. He’s not entirely sure he’ll be able to walk back to his room.</p><p>He doesn’t want to walk back to his room.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not What You're Used To

Dorian lies panting, exhausted, his whole body feeling light, like he’s floating. The Iron Bull rolls off to the side catching his own breath and Dorian lets out a soft sound at the loss of his weight and warmth. The Bull runs a hand down Dorian’s side soothingly in response. Dorian sighs and just lies there. He can’t even bring himself to open his eyes. He feels the bed shift as the Bull stands and frowns slightly, a little of the weightless sated feeling leaving him at the realization that the moment is over now. He hears the sound of water in the wash room and sits up slowly, his muscles still loose and relaxed, reluctant to answer his commands. He’s not entirely sure he’ll be able to walk back to his room.

He doesn’t want to walk back to his room.

Just like that the sweet floating in his head vanishes, replaced by a leaden weight. He curls in on himself a little and squeezes his eyes shut. What is wrong with him? This is hardly the first time he’s left a lover’s room after sex. He should do it now before the Bull comes back and sees him like this. He’s got his feet over the side of the bed and he’s about to test his legs and see how well they’ll hold him up when the Bull re-enters the room and his resolve leaves him in a rush.

The Bull arches an eyebrow at him and Dorian knows he’s messed this up, that he should have been gone by now. He knows how this works. He knows lots of things but none of them are enough to stop the words from leaving his mouth.

“Can I stay?” he asks in a rush, before adding hurriedly, “Not long! Just a little while. I’ll be gone before anyone sees. I won’t cause a scene, I promise… I just…” Dorian trails off and risks a glance up at the qunari. He’s squeezing his good eye shut and his hands are gripping the basin he’s carrying so hard Dorian’s half afraid he’ll break it somehow. He’s angry. Dorian flinches. Of course he’s angry, Dorian is being childish and it’s probably nothing he wants to deal with.

“I’m sorry,” he says. “I shouldn’t have asked. Give a moment to collect my things and I’ll go.” He starts to stand again but the Bull sets the basin down on the bedside table and gently pushes the mage back into a sitting position. He’s still gritting his teeth, his jaw clenched tightly, but his grip on Dorian is light. He sits down next to Dorian and pulls the human into his arms. Dorian blinks rapidly, not sure what to do with that.

“You don’t have to leave, Dorian. I’m not throwing you out,” he says softly into the mage’s hair.

“But we’re done… aren’t we?”

The Bull’s grip tightens on Dorian for a moment in a way that feels protective, and he can’t help but relax into it.

“No, we’re not done.”

Ah. That makes sense then. Dorian turns in the qunari’s arms and smiles at him a little.

“Well why didn’t you just say so?” he asks, his voice lighter than he feels. He leans up and lays a kiss on the Bulls lips. The other man doesn’t pull away but he also doesn’t deepen it like Dorian’s expecting. The mage pulls back in confusion, and the Bull sighs at the frown on his face.

“Lie back for me,” he says gently. The frown doesn’t leave Dorian’s face but he obeys settling back against the pillows. Rather than climbing over him like Dorian's expecting, the Bull leans over and pulls a cloth from the basin, wringing out the excess water before leaning back towards Dorian and gently running it along his chest, washing away the evidence of their earlier activities. Dorian blinks up at him in bewilderment and the Bull runs his free hand through Dorian’s hair gently.

“Just relax for me, Dorian.”

Dorian sighs and does as he’s told closing his eyes and letting the Iron Bull clean the sweat and come from his body.

“That’s it, just let me take care of you. Treat you like you deserve to be treated.” The words are soft and Dorian can't but help but bask in them, leaning into the gentle touches.

The Bull continues on like that rinsing the cloth in the basin and returning it to Dorian’s body several times more until the human is clean, and for a little longer after that too, whispering those soothing words to him the whole time. At some point, probably, if he’s being honest, when the first ‘good boy’ passed the qunari’s lips, Dorian had started crying. Not too noticeably, thank the Maker, no sobs or indelicate noises just a few tears leaving the corners of his eyes. He’s about to thank his luck and assume the Bull hadn’t noticed when the cloth touches his face and gently wipes the tracks away. Dorian turns his head away, embarrassed.

“Hey, come on now. None of that,” the Bull tells him softly returning the cloth to the basin and leaving it there this time. He gathers Dorian into his arms and pulls the sheet up over them. They settle with the Bull lying on his back and Dorian cradled into his side, his head resting on the qunari’s chest. One of the Iron Bull’s hands rests on Dorian’s hair occasionally carding through the strands and the other strokes the mage’s arm. “You’ve got nothing to be embarrassed about.” Dorian scoffs indelicately.

“Other than making you cater to me like a child?”

“That wasn’t catering to you, Dorian. That was taking care of you. That was how you should always have been treated. Those other men, they didn’t know what they had in you.”

Dorian wants to roll his eyes. To scoff the words away like empty flattery but the Bull's voice is low and serious, and Dorian doesn’t know what to do with that.

“And you have no idea how angry that makes me. When I realized how you thought this was gonna go down,” the Bull says ending the sentence with a angry huff and Dorian blinks. He remembers the Bull gritting his teeth and squeezing the life out of the wash basin. That anger hadn’t been for him, but rather on is behalf? “But it’s their loss," the qunari continues after he collects himself. "And just because that’s what you’re used to getting doesn’t mean that’s what you deserve.”

Dorian buries his face in the Bull’s neck like he can hide from the words.

“Yes, that’s all very touching but if you don’t mind I’d like to sleep now as you’ve rather exhausted me,” he mutters before adding, “you brute,” for good measure.

“Yeah alright you don’t believe me right now. Give me time. I’m gonna take care of you.”

Dorian doesn’t argue again and, maybe, lets himself hope. Just a little.


End file.
